Buying a Bike

kona

kenmc wrote: »

Look, the long and short of it is that the OPs boyf wants to try cycling as a means of losing weight and getting fit. Not running. Not walking. Cycling. She never mentioned a marathon as a long term goal. Never asked for the fastest way to lose weight either (although I would argue that going from nothing to something gentle like cycling is a much better idea than going straight to a high impact like running. Perhaps he'd like to take running up when he's gotten used to some sort of exercise, maybe not). So let's stick to the cycling for the moment. The major mental advantage I find with cycling over running is the speed at which scenery changes - I find running boring as, unless I have a rugby ball in hand, at which point I could run all day. Given that he hates the Gym, it's possible that he also gets bored of the scenery. But again we're on a tangent.

Right, so his options for cycling then, as per the original question:
- A hybrid would be a good solution rather than a racer, it's important that it fits well, so go along to a decent bike shop (there's been some threads recently which you can search for, but some which have gotten good reports in Dublin at least are Cycle Superstore and Joe Dalys.) and get fitted for a bike - get him to explain his goals, his aims and his concerns.
- AVOID any bike with rear suspension in his price range, it will only add weight, decrease speed and add complexity to what should be a simple machine. I'd also avoid front suspension in this price range too, again adding weight and another thing to go wrong.
- If he can increase his budget slightly then he will get a better bike - even jumping from 300 - 500 euro will be a big increase.
- As some have suggested a suspension saddle post could be an option to make it a bit more comfortable.
.

hes not going from couch to bike, he has already been in the gym so obviously he has some level of fitness. If my mother can go from nothing to a womens mini marathon in a few weeks, id hope the guy would have the ability to tackle a marathon in 6 months.
a marathon in reality isnt that hard, she look at all the guys who run it with a fecking bugs bunny costume.:D
ive said all ill say on the matter as the OP did want advice on a bike and she has gotten that, but you have to say the other side before you fork out big money on a bike, but it has to be said the more you spend on the bike the more of a pleasure it is to cycle.
dont get a suspension seat post, 1) travel is useless 2)they are flimsy and after a while you will find the bushings will go and they will rock forward and back.

Stark

kona wrote: »

If my mother can go from nothing to a womens mini marathon in a few weeks, id hope the guy would have the ability to tackle a marathon in 6 months.
a marathon in reality isnt that hard

For you... For someone with no running experience at present, it's a recipe for injury.

And for the record, 16 min miles is walking pace. At least it is for me anyway and I'm a brisk walker. 7 min miles is not "close to walking pace", at least not for those of us outside the elitist world anyway.

kona

Stark wrote: »

For you... For someone with no running experience at present, it's a recipe for injury.

And for the record, 16 min miles is walking pace. At least it is for me anyway and I'm a brisk walker. 7 min miles is not "close to walking pace", at least not for those of us outside the elitist world anyway.

dont gyms have thread mills?? do you crawl on these???:rolleyes:

blorg

Kona- if you are doing 7-minute miles walking you should try out for the Olympics, you could be in with a chance of a medal ;-) OK, enough of the Kona bashing for now.

Avoid suspension altogether if possible; if you must get suspension though a post is probably less bad than a front fork which is in turn less bad than rear suspension. A good suspension post like a USE will not behave like Kona suggests but it's unlikely you are going to get a good one on a cheap bike and I'm sure a cheap one will degrade; it's just probably the least of the evils where suspension is involved.

Hybrid is the best type of bike to buy at the low-price end, I'd avoid both MTBs and racers where you need to spend more to get something decent.

I agree that if you could join in it would probably help majorly with the motivation and as others have said look at the diet; cut out processed food entirely if at all possible (it is actually perfectly possible to prepare quick meals from scratch, even if you don't have a lot of time!) When I was losing weight I used www.caloriecount.com which is a great resource; gives you a good idea of what is in what you are eating. Some stuff has next to _no_ calories in it; eat lots of that stuff and you will feel full.

digitalage

7min mile for a guy 5stone overweight

kona

blorg wrote: »

Kona- if you are doing 7-minute miles walking you should try out for the Olympics, you could be in with a chance of a medal ;-) OK, enough of the Kona bashing for now.

.

i said in a previous post that i ment a jogging / running pace........................

when i run i put out in and around 5 min miles.

id expect the most out of shape person to be doing sub 10, id expect sombody who has been in a gym to be at 7 min miles.

kona

digitalage wrote: »

7min mile for a guy 5stone overweight

ye what do you do???

how do we know hes 5 stone overweight?? is this a medical opinion or the wifes opinion????

im just going on general information, i really doubt hes 5 stone overweight.

blorg

kona wrote: »

im just going on general information, i really doubt hes 5 stone overweight.

:eek:

digitalage

kona I'm going on what the original said about her boyfriends weight. I know what a a 7min mile as I just completed my first marathon in 3.14, approx 7.20min/mile pace, I came 1103 out 24,000 runners although the rest must have been walkers:D. I think you might be getting min/mile mixed up with mph, 7 mph would equat too approx 8.30 min mile, still fast for a heavy guy, but doable.

cantalach

kona wrote: »

cycling is crap for losing weight tbh, it will keep you fit but thats about it.....you have to be fit first, it aint very exciting either unless hes going to be dirt jumping or riding downhill, if e is you will want to spend alot more than e300.

id reccomend slugging out in the gym or running, set him a target of the marathon, there are a heap of build up races to it over the summer, if he joins a group for it it will be exciting as there will be a competitive edge.

Sorry, but that's just daft. When I started the deslobification process three years ago I was 15 st 10 lb and I lost so much weight in the first six months just from cycling that I completely overshot the mark and briefly went below 12st 10lb. I'm just under 6'3" and this was way too skinny so I've since bulked up to a healthier BMI.

Also, the OP said that the dude was 5 st overweight and you think it's a good idea to send him out running! What about his knees, calves, etc.? Cycling, swimming, or rowing (anything where the bodyweight is supported) is a far more sensible starting point for somebody 5 st overweight.

One word of caution regarding swimming though. I read of a study that called into question the effectiveness of swimming for weight loss. I can't remember the exact details but one theory was that it had something to do with the fact that with other exercise your core temperature rises and this suppresses the urge to pig out after a work-out. Because of the cooling effect of the water however, this urge is not supressed if swimming is your thing. And anecdotally, I have noticed numerous guys at the pool who can comfortably bang out 100 lengths (2.5 km) without pause, at a decent pace, and yet still waddle into the changing room with a huge beer gut and man boobs.

tunney

kona wrote: »

i said in a previous post that i ment a jogging / running pace........................

when i run i put out in and around 5 min miles.

id expect the most out of shape person to be doing sub 10, id expect sombody who has been in a gym to be at 7 min miles.

again unrealistic for both the "most out of shape person" and the gum bunny

Stark

cantalach wrote: »

One word of caution regarding swimming though. I read of a study that called into question the effectiveness of swimming for weight loss. I can't remember the exact details but one theory was that it had something to do with the fact that with other exercise your core temperature rises and this suppresses the urge to pig out after a work-out. Because of the cooling effect of the water however, this urge is not supressed if swimming is your thing. And anecdotally, I have noticed numerous guys at the pool who can comfortably bang out 100 lengths (2.5 km) without pause, at a decent pace, and yet still waddle into the changing room with a huge beer gut and man boobs.

That's funny, I was thinking about how I'm always ravenous after swimming

kenmc

kona wrote:

i said in a previous post that i ment a jogging / running pace........................

when i run i put out in and around 5 min miles.

id expect the most out of shape person to be doing sub 10, id expect sombody who has been in a gym to be at 7 min miles.

he might manage one 7 minute mile, but that won't be for a good while yet.
Do the maths Kona:
7 min mile for the marathon means you'll do it in 3:03:24.
Looking at the stats for last years dublin marathon, that would place him somewhere around 280th place out of 8460 finishers which would put him in the top 4% of the field.
I have a few friends who have done several marathons - they are very fit, and have been running for years as well as playing tennis, cycling, soccer etc, and they're closer to the 4hour mark. Just checked the Paris website for one of them and he did 3:55. He also happens to be a personal trainer and a fitness nut. If he cannot do a 7min mile without having to firstly get fit, I really don't know how someone who is looking to lose 5stone is going to accomplish this in 6 months.
Think about it.

lukester

If the OP hasn't been scared away by now, it's a great way to stay fit- hope your BF enjoys the bike

cantalach wrote: »

I have noticed numerous guys at the pool who can comfortably bang out 100 lengths (2.5 km) without pause, at a decent pace, and yet still waddle into the changing room with a huge beer gut and man boobs.

Have seen that myself, a bizarre anomaly. Maybe the moobs and spare tyre help you float, making it easier to bang out lengths?

biggus

I see dollydrops hasn't replied yet ...no wonder with some of the attitudes here ,

and I thought she asked about a Bicycle

blorg

It's a classic thread in fairness, deserves to be stickied!

kenmc

blorg wrote: »

It's a classic thread in fairness, deserves to be stickied!

With a title of 'How to make friends and alienate newbies.....":p

Stark

"I crap out a 4 min mile every morning before breakfast. What do you mean you can't do one?"

kona

Stark wrote: »

"I crap out a 4 min mile every morning before breakfast. What do you mean you can't do one?"

you the man stark!!! you the man!!!!

you are soooooooooooooooooooooooo good, i cant believe how inferior you make me feel:rolleyes::D


i run 5 min miles, i dont expect the op husband to do this, id say hed do 7 min miles.....only 2 of them, to the shops and back in 15 mins, not too much.
you have to set goals, maybe he wont run 7 min miles each to their own but thats what id imagine he can do as he has been at the gym and obviously has attained some level of fitness.

Re cycling, have you in all your wisdom considered the back problems that will result from a 5 stone gut levering your lower back whilst at the same time being pounded by shocks through the crap road surface coupled with the unforgiving 100 psi tyres in a hybrid???

there are pros and cons to them all:rolleyes:

niceonetom

kona wrote: »

ive said all ill say on the matter...

that was quite a few posts ago too. ah well...

showry

Everyone's different but here's my tale.
I was about 16 1/2 stone when I started running about 2 1/2 years ago. I did the couch to 5k programme and after 3 months ran a 5 mile race in 45 mins. It took about 16 months to break 35 mins for 5 miles (and get under 7 minute miles) and I lost about 4 stone in the process, training 3-4 times a week.
I started cycling a few months back and 2/3 long spins a week seem to be keeping the weight off with a small bit of running as well. I'm hovering in and around the 7 minute mile mark.
That said I know some other fat b*******s who took up cycling and avoided running and they shed stones as well.

dollydrops

Cheers for all the replies took me ages to get through the whole thread. It was entertaining although Kona you lost me a bit on the running!
TBH walking bores him to tears so I'd saying running wouldn't be much different.


I have taken down a couple of notes we are going bike shopping this weekend.

I'll let you's know how he gets on!

Thanks again!:)

biggus

Dolldrops front suspension and saddle post suspension are a must if a heavy rider doesn't want a sore ar**ole after five minutes

kona

biggus wrote: »

Dolldrops front suspension and saddle post suspension are a must if a heavy rider doesn't want a sore ar**ole after five minutes

no its not , unless she is spending big money, she wont be able to adjust the sag properly on the forks, so with the extra weight, unless they pay to change springs in the cheaper forks to accomadate the extra weigh, most the forks travel will be taken up by sag.

money would be better invested in a ergonomic saddle

lukester

biggus wrote: »

Dolldrops front suspension and saddle post suspension are a must if a heavy rider doesn't want a sore ar**ole after five minutes

Wouldn't go near front suspension. It won't save your a*se at all, and soaks up pedal power, making the bike harder to propel (suppose that could be good if you're trying to lose weight). Also adds unnecessary complexity.

Dunno about the seat post, but correct riding position and a decent saddle is the main factor in saving the cheeks

Gavin

biggus wrote: »

Dolldrops front suspension and saddle post suspension are a must if a heavy rider doesn't want a sore ar**ole after five minutes

Thoroughly disagree. Avoid front sus if road cycling.

blorg

Agreed, avoid front suspension. From my own experience seat post suspension is not that bad, but saddle is more important. Can we have another five pages on this point please!

biggus

I'm heavy and do a lot of cycling and have a selection of bikes. no front suspension for me means sore wrists and shocks to body. I can go much longer and further with front suspension , sag is not a prob and energy loss is minimal.

RtD

A decent set of cycling mitts and riding with a slight bend in the elbows should absorb most of the shocks towards the upper body.

Gavin

Bar ends may also offer different hand positions to reduce wrist strain.